The Biggest Fox
by Sorkalonta
Summary: In an alternate world where the Yondaime messed up something drastic during the sealing, resulting in some pretty... big... consequences, Naruto was cursed to bear the mistakes of his predecessor. And, unfortunately for him, those mistakes don't seem to be getting any smaller.
1. Chapter 1

Shoulders hunched forward, Naruto tried desperately to find something on the flat floor he walked on that could distract him from the harsh whispers and glares from all of the villagers surrounding him. Their accusing eyes boring into his young body, just as they always did.

He kicked a pebble, not daring to look up at those glares. He didn't understand why everyone seemed to hate him so much, why they always went out of their way to make his life as miserable as possible.

There was rarely any direct violence thrown his way, except maybe the random playground bully who seemed to think that because his mom encouraged him, he could attack Naruto. Still, most adults seemed to be content to simply refuse him their services outright or overcharge him for them, and considering his meager orphan stipend, the two were more or less the same thing.

Of course, unbeknownst to the 6-year old moping on the streets, the only reason he hadn't yet been outright murdered by some random drunkard with too much time and too few morals was his shadowy Anbu guard constantly stalking him, overlooking his every move.

Naruto perked up slightly when he caught sight of his number one favorite place in all of Konoha: Ichiraku's Ramen. With a spring in his steps, he quickly ran straight into the large, open stall manned by two of the very few people who regarded Naruto as a person, rather than as a pest.

"Oh? Naruto, my boy! Welcome! Come and sit, please. Do you want your usual?" Teuchi, an old man known through Konoha as one of the best ramen chefs in the village, kindly asked.

Naruto mutely nodded, a small but excited smile on his face as he quickly sat down at his usual spot, trying his hardest not to fidget as he waited for the old man to finish preparing his ramen.

Teuchi frowned slightly once he was hidden in the kitchen. He didn't mind the boy, in fact, he'd taken quite a liking to the village pariah. However, he was starting to get worried as of late.

The boy was obviously losing weight, and although he hadn't talked much the first time he'd seen him when he visited along with the grandfatherly Hokage, he'd still talked a bit. Nowadays, it was difficult to get even a word out of the silent boy.

He sighed. Nothing he could do about it, he supposed. With practiced ease, he carried two full bowls of pork ramen to the boy, gently placing them in front of him.

He gave a hesitant smile, looking down with guilty eyes. A year of seeing the boy practically every other day had made Teuchi particularly receptive to the boy's feelings, so without hesitation, he kindly spoke up. "Don't worry. The second is on the house."

Hearing this, the boy smiled widely before digging in, manners thrown to the wind as he slurped the noodles with a vengeance. Still, It wasn't Teuchi's place to comment, so he didn't.

With a belly now happily filled, Naruto quickly made his way out of the little restaurant. It was Sunday, so he didn't have classes today, but that didn't mean he couldn't train.

After a quick trip back home to pick up some kunai, he marched over to one of the many training grounds, where he proceeded to spend the rest of the evening attempting to hit one of the targets without his kunai overshooting drastically.

By the time the sun was coming down, Naruto was panting, barely able to move from the ground. His fists tightened around a patch of innocent grass as he fought to hold back his tears.

It'd been two weeks since the day his world had crashed around him. He could still feel the judgemental and almost smug look of his teacher, Mitake-sensei, as he spoke the words that had condemned Naruto's fate.

"You can't control your chakra." He'd said, after repeated failures of Naruto to do _anything_ with the abundant amount of chakra he knew he had.

He could still feel the whispers from his fellow students as he was dragged in front of the class and publicly humiliated.

In the world of ninjas, being unable to control your chakra was the same as not having it at all. Essentially, he'd been told that he would never be able to become a ninja, which had been his one and only dream.

The only thing that had given him the will to get up in the morning, was gone just like that.

He'd stubbornly refused to accept it, of course. However, not only did his chakra never respond no matter how much he tried but instead of growing stronger as he trained, his body was only becoming sicker and thinner with each passing day.

It felt like a noose was tightening in around his neck, and he _hated_ it. He hated it enough that, despite having been forced much faster than any 6-year old kid had any right to, he still found himself unable to control the waterworks from his eyes.

Meanwhile, a certain Hokage, Hiruzen, was watching the crying blond from the safety of his tower. He could only try and suppress the ever-growing guilt that had been gnawing away at his conscience for the past month.

The had been a good number of high-ranking ninjas keeping tabs on their not-so-secret jinchuriki, and needless to say, none of them were impressed.

The boy had determination in spades, that was for sure. However, that was literally all he had going for him at this point. His chakra was unusable for reasons unknown, although Hiruzen had his suspicions. His body was weak and would only keep getting weaker as whatever it was that plagued him continued to eat away at him. He was clumsy, unable to do anything more than simply walking or running. His eye-to-eye coordination, frankly put, also sucked.

He was a failure of a jinchuriki, that much even Hiruzen could admit. The boy had always been sickly since his birth, but Jiraya, the last seal master in Konoha, had promised that it would, should, have gone away as the demon's chakra and little Naruto's chakra mixed.

Now, as the boy finally broke down, Hiruzen couldn't bear to continue looking. He felt like a fraud. He'd promised his supposed successor, Minato, that he would look after his son. And yet, he could barely get enough free time to visit the boy once every two weeks, if he was lucky.

Now, even as the boy slowly rotted away, he could still do nothing. Furthermore, there was also the nine-tails to worry about. If Naruto died, what would happen?

If push came to shove, he knew that someone would take drastic action. The memory of the nine-tails attack was still too vivid in many ninja's memories, and he knew that a solution would need to be found soon for what to do with the beast if Naruto died. If. Not when.

His mind was suddenly and forcefully ripped away from its depressed musings as he noticed Naruto had stopped crying. Instead, he was now staring at the kunai in his hands with half-closed eyes.

He knew that look. He'd seen it on the ninja that had asked for suicide missions before.

His mind desperately thought back to which Anbu's he'd assigned to Naruto. With a grimace, he realized that Inu was supposed to be the one guarding the kid today, and for as much as he was one of the best ninjas in the village, he was not emotionally capable of recognizing what was about to happen in time.

Time seemed to be crawling at a snail's pace as without warning, the boy with a once unshakable confidence and neverending belief that he could do anything, struck the sharp knife directly through his own throat.

Hiruzen didn't hesitate as he smashed the highest-level alarm, roaring out for his ninjas to gather. He didn't dare look back at the crystal ball, fearful of what he might see.

Kakashi could only stare blankly as the last remains of his sensei, the man who he secretly thought of as his second father, died in front of him. His muscles refused to move, despite his protests for them to do so.

Another failure on his flawless record of failing every single person he ever cared for. He couldn't even bring himself to speak, for he feared to show the boiling anger rolling within his chest, threatening to burst forth.

He'd been an instant too late. He'd noticed too late the way Naruto stared at the kunai, and now, Naruto's throat had been ripped open by his own hands.

He clenched Naruto's arm as the boy let out a short, wheezy breath that was filled with both so much relief and so many broken dreams. He didn't dare try and bring Naruto to the hospital, knowing full well that he would die on the way there, and then the nine tails would be even closer to the center of the village.

"Naruto..." He whispered, his voice trembling. The boy let out a wheeze, although Kakashi wasn't delusional enough to think that it was some sort of response, judging by the glassiness of the boy's eyes.

Rather, judging from the copious amount of blood flowing from the horrifying hole in his throat, he was fairly sure Naruto had gone catatonic already.

With a thunderous expression hidden behind his Anbu mask, Kakashi hurriedly dragged the dying jinchuriki away from the village.

As all of this was going on, the suicidal 6-years old was in a state of limbo. He'd been contemplating this since that fateful day, and as each day passed by and everything only became worse, he'd just... done it.

He didn't feel pain. In fact, he couldn't feel anything. He could faintly feel the chakra that had so long eluded him stirring within him, as though it was a beast awakening from a long slumber.

He didn't even feel anything as his body melted away into the endless chakra surging within him, and his mind drifting away into the unknown.

But... No. Something was preventing him from seeking absolution from this world. _Something_ forced his mind to pull itself back together, and before he knew what was happening, he could feel again.

Smells that he'd never even dreamed before reached his nose, a cacophony of noise struck his ears, and there was something trying to pull him down, wrapping around his arms and legs and... torso?

As he regained his sense of self, so did his feelings come back. Panic struck first, then regret, and then fear. He didn't understand what was happening as people screamed all around him, and somehow, he could _feel_ their fear.

He forced his eyes to open, and immediately, he regretted it as something flew at his face, and despite it flying at a snail's pace, Naruto was still too estranged with reality to realize what was happening as it struck his glazed eye and exploded.

He let out a screech of surprise, even though it had strangely not hurt at all. Finally, his senses kicked back into gear, and he abruptly realized several things.

One: There were ant-sized people swarming around him, launching kunai at him occasionally or just trying to attack him in some way.

Two: The trees that had once seemed so impossibly tall now seemed... small. Like little bonsais, except even smaller than that.

Three: There were wooden 'chains' trying to wrap around him and restrict him.

Four: He felt several extra limbs sprouting from his tailbone, and strangely enough, they felt completely natural.

Finally, he noticed one last thing. Some distance away from him, the man who had basically raised him was snarling, a strange, large pole in his hands as he barked several commands to the shinobi around him.

Having found his lifeline amongst the chaos and confusion, Naruto reached out with his... clawed hands?

He forced himself to ignore the mounting confusion, and instead, his hands easily cupped around his Jiji, who seemed to be moving in slow-motion, or, well, at least it seemed so to Naruto.

He winced slightly as a particularly nasty explosion struck his head, causing him to instinctively snarl as one of his tails (tails?) slammed out, hitting nothing but air. Nonetheless, the air displaced was enough to throw back some of the more aggressive ant-ninjas attacking him.

He brought the old man, the first and only person to actively care for him, up to his face. Something was striking his fingers from the inside, so he opened it, staring with wide eyes at the combat-dressed Hokage glaring up at him.

"**Jiji...?**" He muttered fearfully, staring at the old man in his hands.

Hiruzen stumbled.


	2. Chapter 2

The fox had broken free. Naruto was dead, and he had failed yet again. Perhaps his old friend Danzo had a point in calling him an old sentimental fool, considering his utter inability to learn from his mistakes.

Hiruzen grimaced as the massive tsunami of chakra that was the nine tails erupted, shooting into the skies above. Kakashi had acted fast and brought Naruto's corpse as far away from the village as he could in the short time they'd been given, hence, the damage to the village should be next to none if his message to Jiraya arrived in time and his absent student hurried.

There were no random Uzumaki children lying around to seal the beast into. They'd have to wing it, somehow, someway. The more he thought about it, the fewer options he found, causing Hiruzen no small amount of migraine thinking about it.

Every single one of the jonin available in the village were surrounding the reforming Bijuu. They'd been given two orders: Stall the beast for as long as possible, and to not die.

The chunin and genin of the village would have only served as casualties, hence, Hiruzen had given the order for them to evacuate the civilians.

Fighting the beast once had already proven it immune to basically everything except fuinjutsu, and amongst the present fighters, only Hiruzen and Kakashi could claim knowledge of the art above the 'I heard about it a couple of years ago' level.

An oppressive aura fell, reminiscent of _that _night, the night where everything had gone wrong. As the beast finished forming, waves of kunai tagged with explosive notes were launched at it, but Hiruzen could see they had no effect whatsoever.

The beast's eyes opened, filled with what Hiruzen could only guess was... confusion? Fear?

Kakashi seemed particularly vengeful, Hiruzen observed even as he tried to shield his ears from the deafening noise of explosions, as he dared to run up the beast and backflip into the air, putting himself into a prime position to launch several tagged kunai at its eyes.

It recoiled from the explosion, letting out a deafening roar as it swatted blindly near its face, but Kakashi, the daredevil, had already gotten out of there with a well-executed Kawarimi.

As several of his ninjas tried to lure the beast further away, seeming to no avail, Hiruzen's brows furrowed. Something was seriously wrong here.

For one, the great beast didn't seem all that interested in attacking. Rather, it was awkwardly swatting any ninja who got too close to its vulpine face while shooting what he could only guess to be panicked looks around.

And then the beast stared at him. Directly.

With a curse, he and his helpers, who'd been preparing a large Jutsu together, scrambled to move away. However, contrary to the passivity it'd been stuck in before, the massive creature _lunged_ forward, falling belly-first onto the ground and almost squishing the ninjas there.

Its hands moved faster than lightning, and with Hiruzen already having to suffer the backlash of an aborted Jutsu of this scale, he wasn't able to dodge at all.

In a flash, Enma's staff form appeared in his hands, extending towards both palms to try and prevent himself from being squished. However, judging from the lack of grunting from his summon, the fox wasn't even trying to do so.

He anchored himself to his staff through his chakra, not daring to touch the beast, the caution he'd cultivated through his many years of life preventing him from even trying such a foolish act. Who knew what would happen if the beast decided to run some of its acidic chakra through its skin?

However, contrary to expectation, he wasn't thrown into a mountain with enough force to shatter it, and him, or squeezed till he was naught but meat paste. No, instead, he was brought directly to the great beast's face, his ninjas stopping their attacks momentarily.

"**Jiji...?**" The titanic beast asked, just as Hiruzen was about to high-tail it out of there. The surprise was so great he actually ended up stumbling. He, the God of Shinobi, stumbled like a drunken old man.

He stopped, actually stopped for a second and observed the Kyuubi's face. There was something eerily human about it, something far too familiar for comfort.

Desperation, hope, confusion, more hope, and just a tinge of growing anger were all emotions being clearly displayed upon the Kyuubi's face.

Wait...

"Naru... Naruto?" He asked in disbelief, lowering his transformed summon to stare into the large beast's eyes.

A small smile graced the mouth of the titanic beast, and it was a smile so familiar that it was akin to a punch in the gut. "**Jiji! It's me, Naruto! Why are you so small? Who are these guys? Wh-**" It's... His? The question was interrupted as a tagged kunai was thrown at the fox's head, too far away to hit Hiruzen, but definitely too close for comfort.

"Stand down, Jounin! This is an order! STAND DOWN!" He barked at his misbehaving subordinated, infusing his voice with as much chakra as he could. He could see from up here the restlessness of the ninjas as they stared between the fox's titanic form and their Hokage, standing unharmed on its palm.

Reluctantly, they backed off, although he could easily tell that they would act in an instant if anything happened, which was obviously good. Hiruzen was venturing into deep, deep waters right now.

Dangerous waters.

"**Jiji... What happened to me? Why are you so small?**" The fox... No. The day the fox called him grandpa was the day he would eat his hat. This was, without much doubt, Naruto.

"Naruto, I need you to listen to me, alright? Stay calm, and don't move." Hiruzen spoke slowly, getting a shy nod in response.

His hand twitched behind his back, and the roots that had been attempting (and failing miserably) to restrain or at least hinder Naruto crawled away.

"Good. Now, listen to me, and don't interrupt, okay?" He asked, getting another nod from the huge fox in front of him, this one a bit more confident. It was _extremely_ weird to be talking to a creature whose pupils alone were more than twice the size he was.

He spoke slowly and clearly, explaining every single detail as he laid out the facts that he'd tried so hard to hide away from Naruto for so long. A part of him twinged with guilt at the thought, but he suppressed it through sheer force of will.

The Kyuubi's attack on Konoha. What a Jinchuriki was. The Fourth's sealing of the great beast into the belly of an innocent child.

He'd had this great line involving a kunai and a scroll lined up for years, ready to be used whenever Naruto inevitably found out his status as a living sacrifice. And yet, looking at him now, he chuckled slightly. Yeah, perhaps that line was better left unsaid.

Naruto had been listening raptly to his explanation... For about five minutes. For as much as the boy had become quiet and solitary following that horrific revelation that had led to this whole disaster, the boy's attention span had never been... good. A polite term for it would have been 'lacking'.

Now, Naruto was still listening with half an ear as he twisted and stared at the fox's body, tentatively waving the massive fox's tails around, while staring in half-wonder, half-horror at himself.

"Naruto!" Hiruzen barked. "Pay attention! This is important!" It was almost cathartic seeing the gigantic fox's body jump violently when he raised his voice... Yeah, he was a bit petty.

"**Sorry**..." Little Naruto, who wasn't exactly little anymore, whispered in a shamed voice, and Hiruzen's pettiness evaporated like smog to the wind.

"**What do I do now, Jiji? Can I become a ninja?**" Naruto asked all of a sudden, leaning down to stare at Hiruzen. It didn't need to be said that the few remaining Anbu he hadn't dismissed yet twitched at the closeness between man and titan.

"... If you work hard, I'm sure you'll become a ninja in no time." Hiruzen said after a short pause, and judging from the suspicious look on the fox's... Naruto's face, he wasn't buying it.

"**... I can tell you're lying.**" Naruto whispered, and Hiruzen was thankful that the boy's tendencies for loudness had vanished before this whole incident happened, or else he might just be deaf right now.

"Naruto... I'm sorry." Was all he could say, and he truly was sorry. For failing his parents, for not giving him his time of day, for not doing _something_ about this. For not being there.

Naruto looked away, but Hiruzen could tell he'd been forgiven if the slight easing on the fox's cheeks were being interpreted correctly.

"We'll figure something out, okay, Naruto?" Hiruzen whispered, and, feeling a surge of braveness, he beckoned with his finger for the boy-fox to come forward.

Naruto did so, even if he was a bit confused. With greatly telegraphed movements as to not startle the still nervous fox, Hiruzen gave one, two, three gentle strokes. He glanced up, noting Naruto's surprised look in his eyes. Nonetheless, there was something in that gaze that told him the boy was pleased with the friendly contact.

If Hiruzen needed to get Naruto to be friendly for him for political reasons, so be it. If he needed to do so from a military standpoint, so be it too. Still, Hiruzen liked to think he was doing this for moral reasons, and because he truly cared about the boy, size and race notwithstanding.

Still... He was already beginning to dread returning to Konoha. The amount of paperwork that was surely waiting for him was making him balk already.


	3. Chapter 3

Naruto stared at his hands/paws, feeling an entire rollercoaster of emotions within him. Confusion, hope, despair, and even happiness.

His Jiji had already promised him that everything would be ok, that they'd work through it together. His faith in the old man had wavered somewhat in the recent months, after his utter failure to do anything to help Naruto. However, he still trusted him.

Hence, although he was a bit reluctant, he still agreed to not move and stay where he was, which was mostly fine for Naruto. Other than perhaps the ramen man, Teuchi, he really had nobody to return to in any case, and it hadn't been quite long enough for him so start missing Konoha yet.

He sat on his haunches, the position strangely comfortable and familiar, for some reason. In fact, his whole body felt strange. Familiar, perhaps.

He didn't understand much. With but a thought, he brought the numerous tails sprouting from his butt to his face, nose twitching when his sensitive nose rubbed against the tail's fur.

For the first few hours, Naruto was content in simply exploring his body and brooding a bit. He played around the small and flat training ground, attempting to walk and move a bit, much to the constipation of the ninjas he knew were watching him.

Which was strange, in a weird sort of way. He'd never been able to find ninjas before if they didn't want him to, but now, he had so many methods of finding them. His hearing was extremely sharp, which considering his massive ears, wasn't really a surprise. His nose was also sensitive, with tens of thousands of smells reaching him every minute, and yet, they somehow failed to overwhelm him... Or even bother him, really.

Furthermore, he still wasn't quite sure what it was or how it worked, but just like with the old man, he could somehow 'sense' their emotions and feelings, even from afar.

He'd work it out later, for sure. Now though, he really didn't feel like thinking much at all. The fact that he'd literally _died_, even if only for a second bothered him, but not as much as he'd expect it to.

It was more of a distant sort of regret, at not having tried harder. At having given up without fighting to the bitter end.

Still... He wasn't unhappy, either. In fact, even though this new body was a bit too big to be wholly comfortable, he felt absolutely amazing.

He had no need to breathe, and if he did do so despite that, it came easily. His muscles didn't ache from the slightest of movements, and the general weakness that'd been plaguing him for so long was gone.

In fact, he felt as though he could shatter mountains with this strength, and judging from the stories he'd heard as a child and from his Jiji, he might very well be able to-

Someone poked his feet, drawing him out of his own mind. Blinking slightly, he shook his head to clear his thoughts before looking down.

A masked man that would have likely utterly dwarfed him in height stood there, casually reading some sort of book... why were those people naked?

The man pointed with his hands to where two of his tails sat, having gone past the training ground and into the small forest surrounding it. Sheepishly, he pulled those tails back, curling them around himself.

"**Sorry... I didn't notice**" He apologized, leaning down with his head to stare at the strange, old man. He had to be old, considering his hair was whiter than his Jiji's.

"Maah, it's alright, big guy." The man said lazily, although Naruto knew better. He could almost smell the sizzling anger, hope, and deep, deep regret inside the man, as well as a touch of embarrassment.

Without so much as a goodbye, the silver-haired man vanished, leaving behind a small shower of leaves. Naruto let out an annoyed huff, having hoped for... Well, he wasn't sure. Company, perhaps?

Letting out another breath of unnecessary air, this one resembling a more of a sigh, Naruto leaned down, using his tails as a makeshift blanket around him as his arms acted as pillows. Despite technically being a fox, Naruto highly doubted that normal foxes had arms and hands as he did, or tails longer than their own body.

Closing his eyes, Naruto allowed himself to drift off to sleep, hoping that tomorrow, he would wake up and find that this had all been a dream.

Even if a small, but not insignificant, part of him dearly hoped it wasn't.

Meanwhile, a certain red-eyed clan head was just about ready to rip out his hair out of the _sheer frustration_ he was feeling. He'd always felt that civilians were nothing but a bunch of fools with eyes for nothing but money, but having his beliefs reinforced was, for once, not making him feel better at all.

"For the last time, no Uchiha other than Madara himself could ever hope to control a Bijuu, much less the Kyuubi itself!" Fugaku said, and no, he did not scream. Uchiha's didn't scream.

... But they did raise their volume just a bit when they got really fucking angry.

"Lord Hokage, this is clearly a ploy made by the Uchiha to take over the village! They've clearly already controlled the Kyuubi once, and they might do so again!" A particularly nasty man, a rich civilian who'd weaseled his way into the council through sheer bribery, shouted with a red face.

The Hokage kept his mouth firmly shut, not wishing at all to be forced to side with either the Uchihas, who were unpopular with more or less everyone, or the civilian, who was plenty unpopular with the ninjas.

"We did no such thing! This is clearly slander, Lord Hokage, I demand this man's arrest!" Fugaku roared, slamming his fist down on the table in front of him. Nobody looked particularly impressed with him, but there were a few sympathetic gazes if nothing else.

"Silence! How dare you bicker like little children in front of the Hokage!" Bear, the Anbu commander, suddenly said, his voice cold enough to freeze ice. Immediately, all background noise evaporated in front of the third most influential man in Konoha.

"Thank you, Bear. I did not call this meeting as our fellow citizens and compatriots hide in shelters only for you to act like children. No, I called this for a reason everyone in this room already knows, or at least should. The nine-tails has re-emerged, but thanks to the Fourth's work, it's not the old Kyuubi."

The silence in the room was deafening, somehow. Hiruzen swept his gaze over every single major clan head and influential civilian currently gathered, daring anyone to contradict him.

The civilians looked just about ready to mutiny on him, all red-faced and hands clenching. Understandably so, in a way. The civilians had been the ones to suffer the most when the Kyuubi had attacked seven years ago, and the village was _still_ recovering from it.

The clan heads and other influential ninjas seemed a bit more relaxed than their civilian counterparts if only because they'd seen their Hokage order the great beast around and even 'hug' it, something that was unimaginable had the beast still been its old self.

"I'm sure most of you were aware of our Jinchuriki's... problem. As it turns out, I have my suspicions that the fourth might have had something to do with what has occurred today. Regardless, at this point, the old law regarding the Jinchuriki will be taken down. Objections?" Hiruzen asked, and as expected, there were none.

Good. He wasn't in the mood for them. His patience had already been strained when the obviously rebellious Uchiha patriarch had gotten into a squabble with an idiotic civilian.

"We'll need to decide the Kyuubi's fate at a later date. For now, make sure regular life resumes uninterrupted. Jonin Commander Shikaku, can I trust you to make sure nobody with foul intentions has entered during our momentary instance of weakness?"

Shikaku lazily nodded, but the scarred man's eyes were as sharp as a blade. Although he put up a lazy front, out of all the men and women in the room, Hiruzen trusted few as much as he trusted the Nara's clan head.

"Lord Hokage, if I may?" A voice spoke up from the civilian side, and Hiruzen only hesitated for an instant before giving a dignified nod. A relatively young man stood up, looking nervously at all the eyes trained on him.

"The Kyuubi, for as much as it might not be the same as the last one, is still extremely dangerous. Wouldn't it be smart to put it back in a child's body?"

Hiruzen silently repeated his mantra that he'd adopted ever since he had been forced to placate nervous civilian councilors. 'They don't know any better, tolerance, patience. They don't know any better...'

"Certainly, the Kyuubi is a dangerous beast. However, as much as it pains me to say, _sealing_ it away is not an option. Only the Yondaime could, and he's unfortunately no longer around, as I'm sure you're aware." He spoke slowly and clearly, the grandfatherly tone that he'd long since mastered taking a dangerous edge.

"I-I see. Thank you, Lord Hokage." The man nodded, a bit pale-faced as he quickly sat back down.

For as much as it pained Hiruzen to admit it, Konoha was a military dictatorship. Civilians had rights and certain privileges, for sure, but they had little say in governmental affairs. Sometimes, they tended to forget that.

"Everyone on board with the agenda? Good. Dismissed. Danzo, stay with me for a little chat, would you?"

As everyone streamed out the wide doors of the Hokage Tower, a figure stepped out from the shadows of the room, a blank look on his bandaged face.

"Hiruzen." Danzo Acknowledged, lowering his head slightly. Hiruzen didn't buy it for a moment.

"Do not try to contact the Kyuubi. He is, essentially, an emotionally vulnerable child right now, and I don't believe that your methods would bode well with him." He ordered, and if his tone was a bit more rigid than it should have been if he was just talking to an old friend... Well, he wasn't called the God of Shinobi because of his kindness.

Danzo made no outward reaction, but Hiruzen could still pick up on the slight narrowing of his single eye. The shadowy cyclops nodded curtly before he too retreated from the room.

Finally alone, without even hit Anbu guard around him, Hiruzen allowed himself to relax. The situation wasn't actually all that bad since Naruto had transformed decently far from the village, and no damage had occurred.

He had some ideas on how to deal with the boy-turned-titan, but unfortunately, they would have to wait. The oppressive chakra of the Kyuubi was still pressing down on all of Konoha, but it lacked the killer intent it held during the first attack, hence, it wasn't truly dangerous.

Even then, people would be worried, and it would be his job to make sure everything flowed back into working shape smoothly. Letting out a tired sigh, Hiruzen gave himself a sharp slap on the cheek and got to work.

He desperately needed to find a new successor soon. He was far, far too old to deal with this shit.


	4. Chapter 4

"Mom..." Kagami whispered, feeling her hands clenching around his wrist. She relaxed a little at hearing his voice, but even he could tell she was still nervous.

That wasn't good. His mom... she just never showed her emotions, she was too good for that, so the fact that he, a mere first-year academy student, could tell she was deeply unsettled told of the gravity of the situation.

"It'll be alright, Kagami, Sasuke. The Hokage... Trust him." She said, but even to herself, the words felt hollow.

"Mikoto! Where is Itachi? Is she with you?" Her husband called all of a sudden. She didn't allow herself to let go of her two children but still turned to face him.

"No. I don't know where she is." She replied curtly. His eyes were just a bit tighter than normal, his posture too stiff for something not to have happened.

Which, yeah. It'd be weirder if he wasn't unsettled, what with the whole _fucking Kyuubi_ within 10 miles of Konoha. In fact, if she took to the rooftops, she could see the outline of the titanic beast.

As a Jonin, even if a retired one, she'd been amongst the many to charge out to delay the fox, so she'd seen the way Hiruzen had dealt with the beast, but that didn't mean she was okay with it.

She could still clearly remember _that_ night so long ago. She still saw it every once in awhile, when her nightmares got particularly bad.

"Hn." He grunted before turning back to redirecting the many Uchiha clan members slowly streaming back into the villages from the various safety bunkers, not even acknowledging his two very much young, and very much scared sons.

Sasuke, the poor boy, was trembling from the sheer oppressiveness of the chakra surrounding them. It wasn't like the last time the Kyuubi appeared, as the chakra lacked the vicinity and deadliness of that attack, but it was still nothing to scoff at.

Kagami, meanwhile, was trying to school his expression into a neutral one but failing miserably. Mikoto knew he'd always been very sensitive to chakra, a good trait for a shinobi... but, right now, it was a double-edged sword, if the vaguely pained look on his face was anything to go by.

She scowled angrily at her husband's back, the vague feeling of betrayal in her chest refusing to go away. Ever since the coup had begun to be discussed secretly, her husband had become less and less the man she'd once loved, and instead, he'd slowly turned into the 'perfect Uchiha'. Uncaring, always keeping his cool, and only caring for the clan.

The fact that he'd completely alienated their genius daughter to the point where she'd retreated into Anbu full time didn't buy him any pity points with Mikoto.

With a tired sigh, she gently led the two twins back into their home, noting with only a little bit of pleasure how subdued they were. Usually, they were a lot more difficult to handle.

* * *

A masked man stood alone on top of the tallest tree he could find, staying a safe distance away from the most powerful Bijuu. Although others wouldn't be able to tell due to the spiraling orange mask, he was frowning, and quite hard at that.

The Kyuubi had broken free, or at least, a version of the beast had. He was sorely tempted to attempt to hypnotize the Kyuubi once more, setting it on Konoha, but not only would that jeopardize his plans, he wasn't sure he could pull it off.

The area around the slumbering fox was positively crawling with Anbu, and for as much as he liked to think of himself as unbeatable by mere Anbu, he didn't dare risk being found out.

Besides, the beast had already broken free once, and if his hypnosis failed... He doubted his ability to phase through things would save him from the sheer deadliness of the beast's malicious chakra.

This would throw a wrench in his plans, but he could work around it. It would definitely be risky, but he'd do it anyway.

He'd do anything to be with Rin once again.

* * *

Life in Konoha didn't exactly resume immediately. It would take at the very minimum a few days for things to die down, and even then, Hiruzen was all too aware that, once the immediate panic and fear wore off, people would be sorely tempted to do things they might regret.

Nonetheless, that was neither now nor then. His wayward student, the last one actively working for Konoha, had still somehow failed to show up despite it having been almost an entire day since Naruto transformed.

It was a horrendous breach of trust, and Hiruzen was _livid_. Had things not gone as they did, Konoha might very well be nothing but smoldering ruins right now, all because his student was too busy drowning himself in women and porn.

And, when Jiraya finally showed up at 10 am in the morning, the man seemed to be all too aware of his mistake if the way he gulped when Hiruzen turned his blank gaze towards his student meant anything.

"Jiraya." He spoke, letting the word hang in the air. "You're late."

Jiraya looked anywhere but at his eyes, the regret on the white-haired man's face would have, in normal situations, been enough to at least soften Hiruzen's heart.

Not this time. He'd fucked up too much this time.

"I have a mission for you, Jiraya." He said, relishing in the way his student's eyes widened slightly at his words.

"Sensei... I'm sorry. The hawk caught me at a bad timing, and I wasn't aware the situation was so dire... I was all the way in Lightning coun-"

"I don't care." He really didn't. "Take this and leave. I'm not in the mood for debriefing you, so deal with it yourself. Don't you dare show up tomorrow without a detailed analysis on Naruto's seal, if it's still there."

Jiraya scrambled to leave, obviously unable to deal with his sensei's overwhelming disappointment in him. And, to an extent, his own disappointment in himself.

He'd gotten careless. He hadn't read the letter he got from the hawk the moment he got it, instead choosing to continue his... exercise... with the very beautiful prostitute he'd been playing with.

The next morning, when he finally read the damned letter and realized it'd been an instant-recall one, he'd gotten a heart attack. It had only been four words, but they'd been enough to send him running full speed back to Konoha.

_The Kyuubi is free_

Of course, he'd known the instant he reached his village that something had happened, considering the sleeping titan not too far from the village itself.

He hadn't stopped to collect information on what happened during his rush to the Hokage, but now that there was no immediate danger, he decided to pay a visit to the Jonin lounge.

The information he gathered wasn't exactly as extensive and detailed as he'd like, but it was enough. Apparently, once the village-wide alarm had gone off, everyone below Jonin level had been ordered to retreat to the safety shelters while all able-bodied Jonin were to rally against the great beast, who was impossible to miss considering the sheer amount of Chakra it seemed to radiate.

And, if Jonin whom he'd talked to hadn't lied, the Kyuubi had called his sensei 'Jiji', and he only knew one person who would ever call him that.

He just dearly hoped it wasn't all some sort of elaborate trap on the beast's part, but he doubted it.

Arriving at the location where the fox slept quite soundly, he flashed his chakra in an identifiable pattern, allowing the Anbu who acted like an irritated beehive to calm down. He wasn't called a Sannin because he was weak, after all.

He emerged from the trees, careful not to do anything that could startle the dangerous titan in any way. It wouldn't be good if the beast got startled and squished him, and it wouldn't even be because he'd be dead.

The political situation was _dangerous_ right now. The beast couldn't afford to be alienated, nor could it be trusted, and considering the already precarious mental stability of a suicidal kid... He didn't want to think about it.

Its eye twitched slightly, as did his nose and ears. Slowly, it opened its eerily slitted eyes, who, after a moment of confusion, settled on the miniscule form of Jiraya.

"Heya, kiddo!" He called out cheerfully, ignoring the utterly stunned looks he could feel from the surrounding Anbu's chakra. "I'm Jiraya, toad sage and author extraordinaire, and I just so happen to be the guy whose supposed to check out your seal! Mind rolling over for me, please?"

There was a stunned moment of silence as everyone, fox included, digested his words.

Then, the overgrown fox glared down at the smiling toad sage, who still sported a face that tried to convey perfect innocence. "**I'm not a dog...**" It mumbled, and boy, wasn't it weird to hear the _fucking Kyuubi itself_ mumble like a petulant child?

With almost visible reluctance, it stood on its four legs, who really looked more like arms, and stretched slightly, letting out a large yawn.

Jiraya was tempted to crack a perverted joke at the large beast's nakedness, mostly to try and familiarize himself with the fox and try and see if it truly was his godson, but even he could tell that would likely not go over very well.

With careful movements, the large Kyuubi rolled onto it's back, looking distinctly uncomfortable as Jiraya jumped onto it, needing to climb it to reach its belly.

"Alright, this might sting a little, so try and stand still for me, would you?" He shouted. His suspicions had mostly evaporated the moment the Kyuubi had followed his orders, as he highly doubted _any_ Bijuu would ever 'roll over' just because a random human told it to.

And wasn't that a punch in the gut. A random human. Not his godfather, not his mentor, not even an acquaintance.

He bit back the everpresent guilt that surrounded him and instead focused on channeling his chakra to try and find if the seal had held. He had to be careful, too, as one wrong move and he risked coming into contact with the fox's chakra, and that would be multiple levels of 'not good'.

And... Well, he didn't find anything, which wasn't all that big a surprise. When he finally stopped channeling his chakra, the Kyuubi spoke up.

"**What... What will happen now?**" There was a clear worried undertone in the fox's... No, Naruto's booming voice. As one of the most skilled spymasters, there was no way he could miss it.

"I don't know, kiddo. Just hold on for now, alright? Hey, how about we talk for a bit, yeah? Tell me a bit about you, would you?" It was a ploy to distract him, and Jiraya was fairly sure Naruto knew it. Nonetheless, the newly-minted Kyuubi grasped onto it like a man lost in the desert would hold onto an oasis.

"**Well, I like ramen...**" The fox mumbled lightly, launching into a rant about his favorite kinds of ramen, and, yeah, he was definitely Kushina's son.

As the fox spoke, Jiraya took the opportunity to carefully jump off of the giant fox, allowing Naruto to tuck himself into a more comfortable position, looking almost like a cat with his legs tucked under his belly and his numerous tails waving gently in the wind.

Jiraya took the time to cheerfully contribute to the conversation, all too aware of the many, many eyes watching the two of them, and he was fairly confident that Naruto was also well aware of them.

The spymaster knew that, at this moment, he _needed_ to make sure Naruto looked as friendly and harmless as possible, and what better way to do so than through a simple conversation about ramen? Sure, it wouldn't be enough alone, but a start was a start.

He knew the kid had been, and likely was, smart, but he knew he lacked the political savviness needed most ninjas at or above Chunin level had. He could only hope no accidents occurred, and no suicidal civilian decided that picking a fight with a mountain-sized beast would be a good idea.

... Who was he kidding? The civilian councilors would, without doubt, try and send some minion to stir up trouble, if only to try and find an excuse to 'kill' Naruto.

He'd like to see them try because he highly doubted anyone except someone at the level of the First or Fourth Hokages would be able to do much against the fox.

Thankfully, the Anbu were anything but incompetent. They'd make sure nobody would try anything they could regret.

... Hopefully.


	5. Chapter 5

Naruto's eyelids fluttered open at the distinct feeling of someone entering within his little 'personal sphere'. It had already been 3 days since he attempted suicide and all the chaos that followed with that, and honestly, he was bored out of his mind.

He'd been having a really good dream if the giddy feeling that persisted even after his brain turned on was any indication. Unfortunately, he'd forgotten it immediately afterward, which was kind of a shame.

He focused his eyes upon the two... kids? What were two kids doing here?

He scoped out their emotion, finding fear, curiosity, but mostly just determination in the slightly bigger kid, while the other one's emotions were a bit more complex. Nervousness, giddiness, panic, confusion, and even mischievousness?

He wasn't a ninja, and he knew now that he likely never would be, and honestly, he'd come to terms with it. After all, three days without doing anything at all except think and sleep did tend to allow people to come to terms with things faster than normal.

Besides, it wasn't as though he was unhappy with his new body. Sure, everyone and their mother seemed to be afraid of him to the point of mind-numbing terror, but he really didn't care about that. All that was important to him was that he finally didn't feel like a prisoner just waiting for the blade to fall on his head.

And, if a little part of him was secretly elated at finally putting those damn bastards that had tormented him for all of his life in their place... Well, he could always deny it if anyone asked.

He blinked slightly when he noticed the slightly shorter kid argue through whispers with his friend... or brother. They looked and smelled quite alike, after all.

One of the perks that came with being a titanic chakra construct in the form of a fox was enhanced senses, and since he had literally nothing else better to do, he eavesdropped.

"Come on, Sasuke! Let's just go see it! I'm curious!" The shorter brat whispered giddily, causing the bigger brat, Sasuke, to glare at him petulantly.

"Kagami! Mom told us specifically _not_ to come here! What if she finds out?" He whisper-shouted at his brother, a tick mark slowly forming on his forehead.

Naruto could easily sense the Anbu patrolling that little section of the forest stiffen upon hearing two kids chatting, but strangely enough, the Anbu didn't immediately drag them off. Instead, he settled above them, staring at them with an almost hateful feeling, if Naruto's emotional radar rang true.

Naruto mulled over how to handle the two kids. They didn't seem much older than he'd been, and he _was_ bored to the point of tears. He'd already begged Jiji to let him stretch or go for a walk or something, but he'd steadfastly refused even the whiniest and most harsh of puppy-eyes he'd thrown at the old man, claiming that he 'needed to wait for the political instability to settle a bit'.

Honestly, Naruto felt as though Jiji was being dramatic. Surely, he couldn't have caused _that_ much trouble for the old man, right?

Right?

Another round of whispered bickering reached his ears, causing Naruto to twist his head to look at the two of them directly. Honestly, he could hear things being said all the way from the village, this little bit of distance was akin to someone shouting in his ears.

Hence, feeling mischevious, Naruto chose to extend one of his claws out to where the two bickering children were. A wave of panic emerged from the surrounding Anbu, but strangely, none of them chose to interfere.

The giant claw slowly and carefully approached the kids who'd allowed their attention to be taken away from their task. With a playful grin on his foxy face, even if it looked more like a ferocious snarl, Naruto pressed down with his digit on the ground behind the two brats.

The earth caved in as easily as paper, causing enough noise to finally alert the two brats. With ashen-white faces, they slowly turned around, and when they saw the giant clawed finger slowly dragging itself towards them, they screamed and bolted.

Naruto smirked as he trailed his finger just enough to never quite catch up to them but to never lose them either as he led them through a merry chase through the forest surrounding his little prison. It was painfully easy to keep the two children within his reach, simply by blocking off potential escape routes through quick movements.

After a few minutes, the shorter one abruptly tripped over his own feet, falling face-first on the ground. "KAGAMI!" The other one screamed, throwing himself in between the approaching finger that had left a trail of destruction on its wake and his brother.

Seeing that the kid had potentially gotten hurt, Naruto immediately stopped. He wasn't _trying_ to hurt anyone, after all. He just wanted to play a bit.

He leaned forward with his massive head, peeking above the trees to stare down at the two black-haired children. "**Are you alright...?**" He asked as softly as he could, although the voice still came out as slightly booming.

The kid who'd tripped shakily got up, staring upward with an expression bordering on wonder. Naruto could feel his emotions, and although there was a little bit of fear still, it was overwhelmed by curiosity and sheer good-will. "You can talk?!"

The other kid, Sasuke, was staring back and forth between his brother and Naruto, eyes wide as saucers. Naruto huffed, a bit offended at the insinuation. "**Of course I can! I'm... I'm not stupid!**" He said, trying to sound as confident as he could... Although it probably came out a bit more whiny than he'd intended to.

Sue him. He'd never interacted with anyone his age beyond being insulted or getting ignored by them. He was allowed a bit of awkwardness, alright!?

"Oh... sorry! I didn't mean it like that, haha!" The brat laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head. Finally, Sasuke snapped out of whatever shock had been holding back his mental faculties as he dragged his smaller brother behind him and faced the beast head-on, puffing up his little chest.

"I won't let you touch my brother!" He yelled. Naruto blinked slightly, feeling the protectiveness emanating from the kid in front of him.

"**Oh.**" He said, somewhat stunned, and if he was to be honest with himself, a bit dejected. "**Okay...**" He murmured as he retreated back into the clearing, ignoring the buzzing of the Anbu as they quickly gathered to see what had happened.

Without much fuss, the two kids were promptly knocked out by a random Anbu and 'escorted' back to the village by an apathetic Anbu, leaving Naruto to stew alone in boredom, trying to shut away all the hate and negative feelings being thrown at him.

It wasn't actually that difficult. He'd been doing it his whole life, after all.

"WHAT WERE YOU TWO THINKING!?" Fugaku roared as his fist smashed quite violently upon the table in front of him, causing his two wayward sons to stiffen and take a couple of steps back in fear.

He had no idea how they'd managed, but they'd _somehow_ sneaked past Konoha's gate, past a literal _swarm_ of paranoid Anbu, and into the grounds currently on lockdown for... obvious reasons.

The political fallout of _two_ of the Uchiha clan head's children doing something so stupid and forbidden was already giving Fugaku headaches. Already, his wayward heiress had abandoned her rightful duties to the clan, and now, even his male children insisted on causing even more trouble when they really couldn't afford it?

And... He would be lying if he said he hadn't been worried to high hell. The Kyuubi, despite appearing quite peaceful at the moment, was still a ticking timebomb at the moment, one that could potentially bring ruin at anything it wanted, anytime.

The fact that his two sons had been not only observing, but also interacting, with the monster made his already stressed nerves come that much closer to snapping.

"Get out of here, both of you. I'll make sure you'll _never_ think of doing anything as stupid ever again." Fugaku coldly ordered after taking a few moments to calm his worsening temper. His two sons both gulped, looking suitably chastised, although Kagami still had a little defiant glint in his eyes.

He'd beat it out of him soon enough. He wouldn't tolerate another Itachi in his house.

As the village scrambled to adjust to the presence of the massive Kyuubi's presence, a certain Hokage and Yamanaka clan head met in Hiruzen's office.

"So... What do you think, Inoichi?" Hiruzen asked, rubbing his temple. Thankfully, Naruto had been learning and experimenting with his newfound chakra, and after a short visit from Hiruzen, he'd begun trying to keep it within himself instead of acting like a lighthouse of chakra.

Inoichi frowned slightly as he glanced at the report in his hand one more time. "Lord Hokage, if I may, the current status quo will not hold for long. If the Kyuubi truly is-"

"Naruto. His name is Naruto, Inoichi. Do not forget that." Hiruzen glared at the clan head in front of him, causing the other man to sweat slightly. Inoichi bowed his head slightly, acknowledging his mistake.

"... My apologies. If Naruto is truly who you think he is, then the situation, while not catastrophic, must still be handled with great care. As an abused and hated orphan, his ties to Konoha are likely shaky at best, and non-existent at worst. He respects you, Lord Hokage, but if he does not form ties with anyone, or if we do not give him a good reason to stay loyal, there is very little we can do to prevent him from simply walking off." Inoichi explained carefully, knowing that the old Hokage in front of him was particularly easy to set off when discussing the late Uzumaki.

"Furthermore, if we continue to restrict him to such a small area, at least for him, he will gradually build up resentment. He is only 7 years old, after all. He's likely been entertaining himself with his newfound body, but as the Uchiha incident has shown, he needs an outlet. While I know this might be politically risky, I believe that the best option would be to find a large, preferably flat and uninhabited area where Naruto can enjoy himself without worrying of destroying something by accident."

Hiruzen nodded along with the Yamanaka's speech, having already guessed the majority of it himself. In a way, he'd been expecting this kind of outcome, and the more he thought about it, the more he liked it.

"We'll need to create some sort of accommodation for Naruto within Konoha, or we risk alienating him. Furthermore, if Naruto is willing, I have a few ideas that could potentially create enough revenue to justify whatever action we can take. But, since you proposed it yourself, dear..." He leaned forward slightly, emphasizing the importance of his next words.

Inoichi gulped slightly, preparing for his Hokage's next words. "... Find someone able and willing to take him for a nice, long walk, as I prepare things here in Konoha."

"Y-you... You would trust the Yamanaka with such a task, Lord Hokage?" Inoichi asked nervously, knowing full well that the Hokage would almost surely be called out on 'favoritism' for this move, rather than putting it through the council.

Hiruzen laughed a bit, slumping back into his chair as he waved his hand. Without so much as a small gust of wind, the Anbu Commander, Bear, appeared at his side.

"Bear here will make sure whoever you choose won't be too radical of a choice, but otherwise, yes. I'll leave it up to your discretion. I trust that you have Konoha's best interest in mind." Hiruzen said, and although he looked relaxed, Inoichi still didn't dare take him anything other but seriously.

"Understood, Lord Hokage! I will report here tonight with a good candidate. Will I have some sort of list to work off of?"

"Yes. It's already been delivered. Get out of here already, brat." Hiruzen joked in good humor, garnering a small smile from the blond-haired clan head as he quickly left.

"... Sending the Kyuubi away will be dangerous, Lord Hokage." Bear commented idly from the sideline, glancing at his old friend. Hiruzen waved him off with practiced ease.

"He won't go anywhere near the border, and he'll remain safely in Fire Country. I've already contacted the Daimyo and given him an offer I know for a fact he won't be able to refuse. The other nations might grumble a bit, but since they all technically also have their own Jinchuriki that they regularly send around their country, their arguments won't hold up. Besides, I'd like to see anyone dare and try anything against Naruto as he is now."

Bear lowered his head, acknowledging Hiruzen's argument. Still, there was something deeply uncomfortable about allowing such a powerhouse to leave Konoha like this, with very few certain guarantees. Still, the Kyuubi's only real tie to the village was the Hokage himself, so, for as long as Hiruzen lived, the Kyuubi would stay.

They'd just have to find something to tie the fox down, whether that be through friendship and love, or by shoving it into a new, more controllable host. Honestly, either option was fine with Bear.

"All right. What's next on the agenda?" Hiruzen finally said after a few blessed moments of silence.

"I'm afraid it's the Uchiha again. We've got yet another report of a suspicious gathering..."


	6. Chapter 6

He was standing amidst a field of blood and corpses, the bodies of the humans who'd dared to try and enslave him rendered asunder by his claws, their pathetic tribe evaporated by his Bijudama.

They wanted to chain him, like so many before them, and like all the other idiots, they'd failed. Now, as he gathered his chakra into his mouth to prepare another Bijudama and aimed towards their fleeing civilians-

His eyes snapped open, his breathing a bit ragged. Which was ironic, really. Bijuus didn't need to breathe, after all.

He let out a shaky breath, ridding himself of the clinging sensation of hatred and rage. This had been the most vivid dream he'd ever had in his entire 7-year long life, and despite not being the sharpest tool in the shed, even he knew that there was no way that was _just_ a dream.

He noticed that the chakra that basically made up his entire body was acting up again. With an ease that would have been unthinkable to the him before this incident, he reeled the chakra back inside.

It was pathetically easy controlling his chakra, and it was an absolutely exhilarating feeling. Sure, humans may describe their chakra as an 'extra limb', just like he'd always been told, but as a Bijuu, he _was_ chakra, and the chakra was him.

Shaking his massive head slightly, he smelled the air. 8 Anbu patrolled the ground around him, some of them familiar, some not.

Letting out an annoyed huff, he gently rested his head back between his two front arms, bringing his tails to gently wrap around his eyes, blocking out the light of the sun. He wasn't actually sleepy, and he highly doubted he _needed_ to sleep, but it felt nice, and there was literally nothing else to do.

Well, he could always just leave his little constrainment area, but that would bother his Jiji, and considering the sheer amount of stress and tiredness that had practically oozed off of the old man when he visited the night before, having come to ask about what happened with the two kids who'd visited him... Well, he didn't want to trouble the only person who'd cared for him.

So, he entertained himself by eavesdropping. Normally, unless he focused specifically on it, all the various noises and sounds tended to blend together and be filtered out of his brain. However, if he focused, he could easily hear out specific conversations.

_"Didn't you hear about those filthy Uchiha brats? They must have tried to control the beast!"_

_"Sir, we don't serve your kind here. Leave at once!"_

_"Goddamn civilians, when we take over, we're going to kill them all!"_

Yeah. He didn't like to listen in on Konoha's day-to-day conversations. It reminded him of just how much he himself had suffered at the hands of the bastards who prawled those streets.

Still, it was better than nothing. Hence, he listened anyway, trying to block out the hateful whispers that seemed to be growing more and more common in Konoha. He could practically smell the tension in the village, and he knew, in a way, that he was responsible.

He was no Yamanaka, his understanding of the human mind was shaky at best and nonexistent at worst. Still, even he understood that people were trying to find a scapegoat for their anger now that he, the village pariah, had turned into something that... Well, he wasn't such an easy prey now.

It really made him wonder why he still stayed. A naive part of him, the one that had survived the soul-crushing months of depression and constant public humiliations and beatings, insisted that it was because he knew things _could_ get better. That the people could be better.

In truth, though, he knew that it was only because he really didn't know what else to do. Where would he go anyways? If he left, would he ever find a home again?

He was shaken out of his somewhat depressing thoughts when he felt two... No, three presences enter his training ground.

Although, the place really couldn't be called that anymore, considering just how broken the place was. Trees lay crushed on the shattered earth, the few obstacle courses that had littered the area had been thrown away by Naruto when he'd accidentally sat his sensitive butt onto one, and everything else that bothered him had been crushed and mercilessly thrown away by one of his suprisingly flexible tails.

Focusing back on the two approaching men, and temporarily ignoring the hidden one, Naruto felt the familiar chakra and emotions of the white-haired wierdo... Jiraya, if he remembered correctly.

The other one was an unfamiliar blond, although he could vaguely recall feeling his chakra within the Hokage Tower before, speaking with his old man.

"Good morning, Naruto!" Jiraya called out jovially as he approached, hands in the air and clearly walking in a non-threatening manner. Not that Naruto really cared for how he acted, since ever since he turned into a fox, it was impossible to hide one's intent before him.

"**Hello...**" Naruto called back, his booming voice, no matter how much he tried to tone it down, washed over the entire clearing. He could sense that the blond man's smile had taken a bit of an uncertain edge to it, and Naruto could easily sense the appehension in him.

Jiraya seemed to notice the sudden narrowing of Naruto's great foxy eyes at the blond, and immediately acted to dispel the tension. "Aah, anyways, we're here with very good news. The Hokage has-"

"**He said he'd find someone to bring me 'for a walk'. Yeah, I know. I can hear you, you know?**" He interrupted, tilting his head slightly as he stared down at the white-haired pervert.

Jiraya's mouth dropped, and he stared, flabbargasted, at the giant fox in front of him. "W-what? How? That was like, all the way back in the tower!"

Naruto smirked, and if it looked a bit more ferocious than it should on his face... Well, what could he do about it. His tendencies for innocent sadism had grown a bit ever since he began dreaming, after all. "**These ears aren't decorations, you know, so please never again make a joke about me being a dog, nee?**"

Both Jiraya and the blond looked away, slightly embarassment. However, as if a click suddenly went off in his head, Jiraya stared straight at Naruto's slitted eyes, a serious look on his face that looked... wrong. Jiraya hadn't struck Naruto as a serious person, after all.

Jiraya smiled, but it was a sharp one. "Oh, really? That's... Interesting. Say, when we have the time later, we should chat a bit... Talk about all the rumors going around. So..." Jiraya's voice suddenly dropped to barely a whisper, impossible to hear even for the blond standing right next to him. "Keep your ears open, Naruto."

Naruto's face scrunched up in confusion, but he still nodded anyways. He wanted him to listen in on people's conversations? Well, he did that anyways, but why would he want Naruto to...

"Ahem! Anyways, back to the topic on hand, Lord Jiraya. Kyu-... Naruto, I'm worried about your possible mental stability. I understand that this might sound offensive, but please, if you ever feel the need to, I would gladly talk to you about your problems. I'm Konoha's best psychologist, so I can guarantee both confediantiality and competence." His tone took a slightly braggy tone at the end, and Naruto could feel the deep pride within him as he spoke. It didn't feel like 'false' pride, and Naruto could tell he was honest about the confedentiality bit.

"**Really? You'd talk to me?**" Naruto asked, his voice a bit... weak. Lowering his head till he was only a couple meters in front of the two. At this distance, the size difference between them was even more apparent, as even his shortest whisker was easily twice their length.

He could smell some fear coming from the blond, but there was also a quiet determination. "Yes. Should you wish for my help, I would be happy to provide."

Leaning back, Naruto took a mornful look at the two in front of him. Sighing, he lowered himself so his head was resting on his arms, still facing them. His tails waved gently in the wind, acting mostly on their own. "**I just want to talk to someone... I'm lonely, and everyone seems to either hate or fear me, even when I was human.**"

Naruto's murmur seemed to cause some sort of serious reaction with Jiraya, as the faint guilt that had been present on him since the first time they'd met spiked drastically. Despite that, his face still looked like that of a statue.

"I... I see." The blond said, obviously out of his depth now. Naruto sighed, wondering just how these two grown men were being left speechless by him. Nine tails or not, he was still only a 7 year old. They should be the ones taking responsability, not him!

There was a lull in the conversation as the two men exchanged meaningful glances and gestures. Naruto was a bit ticked that they were hiding their conversation, but didn't say anything. He honestly just wanted to get this over with already.

Finally, they seemed to come to some sort of consensus. With a murmured apology, the blond who'd ended up forgetting to tell Naruto his name excused himself and did performed what Naruto had learned was called the 'Shunshin' and sped away from the area, leaving Naruto and the toad sage behind.

"So... Anyways, that turned out completely different from how I'd imagined this conversation to be! Well, you know what they say, the ladies like it when a man's unpredictable!" He winked at Naruto as he said that, as though it was some sort of joke.

"**... I don't understand.**" Naruto said after a few stunned moments of silence. Jiraya sweatdropped, remembering that Naruto was, after all, only seven.

If Hiruzen heard him cracking sexual jokes with Naruto... He shivered. Hopefully the old man wasn't spying on them at the moment with his crystal ball.

"Aah, nevermind. Well... I suppose it's about time I introduce to you the guy who's going to make sure you don't accidentally smash through an innocent town." Jiraya grinned heartily, but Naruto didn't buy it for one second. The man was hiding something, that much was obvious to Naruto's new but very keen senses.

It didn't feel malicious, though, so Naruto supposed it was alright. He was getting kind of tired of being surrounded by anger and hate, and although the man smelt of guilt, he was alright for the most part. A bit weird, but nice.

As if he'd been waiting for this moment, the Anbu that had followed Jiraya and the blond Shunshined next to Jiraya, kneeling. He wore a weasel mask, if Naruto's judgement was correct, and he seemed... young. Younger than he'd expected his potential caretaker to be, really.

Jiraya clapped his hand on the Anbu's shoulder in a friendly gesture, but Naruto could feel the slight protectiveness emanating from the white-haired man. "Hello there, weasel. Naruto, this is weasel. He'll stay with you for the next couple weeks during your... vacation. He'll make sure you keep up with your studies, but you gotta promise me, you won't slack off, eh?" He asked jokingly, staring at Naruto with a bright, fake smile.

"**Studies, huh...**" Naruto murmured to himself, feeling a sort of bitter happiness within him. He'd never liked the academy, as everyone in it despised his guts. However, that didn't mean he didn't like learning. In fact, it'd been the only thing he hadn't been horrendously handicapped for, and even if the teachers had tried to sabotage him-

He shut down that line of thought. It wasn't good to think about those times.

"Greetings, Lord Naruto." A slightly metallic voice from the short, young Anbu next to Jiraya. Naruto peered down curiously, taking in his scent more deeply.

It smelled different from what he'd expect. It still contained that metallic, bloody taste that 90% of all Anby had, but it wasn't like the smell of Jiraya or the old man.

"**Hi.**" He greeted back, still curious. At this point, he was basically hovering above both humans, observing the strange Anbu.

Jiraya took the initiative to leave, giving a few words pats of encouragement to the Anbu's back before quickly retreating.

There was an awkward moment of silence as both humans and fox scoped each other out even further, the young Anbu's face hidden perfectly behind the white mask. However, his feelings weren't quite as safely hidden, and Naruto could feel the nervousness in the Anbu below him.

In the end, it was Naruto who spoke up first. "**So... Can we leave? I'm kinda sick of staying in one place for so long.**"

The Anbu didn't react outwardly, but Naruto still felt a slight jolt of panic shoot through the human before it was suppressed. He was quite strange, Naruto decided.

"I... Yes, Lord Naruto. The Hokage has already been given his approval for your leave." He tilted his head forward a bit, as though bowing, but not quite.

"**Ah... That's... Nice. Just call me Naruto, though.**" He quipped. Evidently, neither fox nor human were experts in human relations. Or, in this case, fox-human relations, but Naruto grumpily decided he still counted as human, if only in his heart.

The Anbu dipped his head slightly in acknowledgement. Naruto's foxy lips twitched briefly in childish amusement, and before the Anbu could protest, he lowered his head to the ground.

Naruto ignored the Anbu's strange emotions in response to his actions, and instead tried to ignore the unconfortable feeling of the dirt and rocks scraping his chin and neck. It didn't hurt, but it was quite annoying, and his pride also felt as though it was taking a small hit.

"**Come on, get up here. I wanna go already!**" Naruto whined, jolting the Anbu out of whatever trance he'd found himself in.

"Ah... Yes. My apologies." The Anbu apologized, carefully stepping onto Naruto's muzzle. He slowly and delicately made his way till he was squarely on top of Naruto's head, where he awkwardly got on his knees, and Naruto could feel chakra emanating from the Anbu as he latched onto Naruto's body.

Finally, Naruto stood up at his full height. Konoha looked... small, from his perspective. It was almost humbling to think that, not even a week ago, he'd been one of the ant-sized people scurrying around the place.

"Head that way, Lor-... Naruto. That is the direction of the place the Hokage and Daimyo agreed would be 'yours'." The anbu on his head spoke, and if it was a bit louder than before... Well, Naruto didn't care.

Releasing a pleased howl, Naruto jumped to where he felt the Anbu's hand pointing. Despite having never ran before in this body, it felt as though he'd been doing it for ages. The ground shook harshly under his steps, but he ignored it, relishing the feeling of the wind against his face.

"Don't step on anyone, please!" The Anbu full-on screamed, holding on for dear life to Naruto's furry head as the whip threatened to dislodge him. The voice felt different from before, higher-pitched, perhaps.

Naruto ignored him, since he was already paying attention. Besides, nobody would miss a couple civilians if he accidentally stepped on them.

Well, Jiji might. Grumbling inwardly, Naruto slowed down a bit, more careful with his massive steps. Better not to anger the old man, he thought. He already had a few white hairs, and it wouldn't do if he had not one, but two white-haired old men nagging him.


	7. Chapter 7

Itachi held on for dear life to the titanic fox under her. While the fox wasn't quite at the level of instantaneous movement, or even Shunshin level, the sheer distance it could cross with a single leap was mind-boggling.

They'd been running for over ten minutes and had already left Konoha far behind. To be honest, Itachi still found herself wondering just how in the world she'd ended up accepting this assignment. Oh, right. She hadn't. She'd been _ordered_ to do it.

The hows and whys were a bit beyond her, but she was pretty sure it came down to the fact that she was, essentially, the best clanless ninja available to the Hokage, as well as one of the youngest ones.

And wasn't that a bitter pill to swallow. A clanless ninja, huh. Well, it was probably for the best. Her father's misogynistic and overly ambitious attitude had always given her a headache.

She was forced to focus on the present once more as the fox let out an earth-shaking howl as it _leaped_ an impossible distance, reaching the top of a mountain with ease.

Thankfully, they'd reached the part of fire-country bordering with Kumo, and considering how inhospitable this area was, there were no humans other than the occasional merchant or bandit tribe, and nobody would raise any issues if the fox she'd been assigned to guard accidentally stepped on one or two.

She could still recall the conversation with the Hokage and Yamanaka clan head as they informed her of her mission.

_"Anbu operative Weasel. At attention!" Commander Bear barked harshly at her, and she immediately stood, trying to look and act as respectfully as possible._

_Bear was an exceptional commander, and he genuinely cared for his subordinates. However, he was also the strictest man she'd ever met, bar perhaps her father and clan elders._

_"Aah, it's alright, Bear. Weasel, if you may, would you remove your mask please?" The Hokage asked, causing Itachi to stiffen. She hadn't been informed of the reason for her sudden recall from a mission, but she guessed it had something to do with why she was here now._

_She jerkily removed her mask, keeping it at her side as her pale face stared evenly back at the Hokage. It'd been so long since she'd stood under the sun without her mask on, and it showed. While Uchihas, in general, had pale skin, hers was at a whole new level. She wasn't very proud of it._

_"Thank you, weasel... Or should I call you Itachi?" It was a rhetoric question, and all four people in the room knew that. If the Hokage told you to march, you didn't ask for how long or where to. You just marched._

_"Good. Now, onto the meat of the argument. Itachi, you've been selected for a long term, low S-rank mission. Refusal is not an option." The Hokage told her, and although his voice was gentle, she could feel the steel underneath his aged voice._

_"Yes, Lord Hokage!" She answered, as was proper. The God of Shinobi nodded back at her with a smile before pulling up a file. "Good. Now, what do you know of Naruto Uzumaki...?"_

She let out a sigh. She held a great deal of respect for the aged Sandaime, for everything he had to deal with, and for leading a village at the brink of civil war. Well, that might be an exaggeration, but if the rumors she'd been hearing from her remaining contacts in the Uchiha clan didn't lie...

She was ripped once more out of her thoughts as, all of a sudden, the Kyuubi stopped. Thankfully, she'd already trained herself to have a stomach made of steel, or she'd be losing her lunch by now, and that might... displease... the fox.

Well, if there was anything good about this mission, it was the fact that she got to ride on the head of the _motherfucking Kyuubi, bitches, look at who's the boss!_, and also bragging rights for the rest of her life against her best friend and secret crush, Shisui.

As the fox looked around curiously, Itachi took the moment to compare the area they'd reached to the one she'd been shown by her Hokage on a map, finding the two to be fairly similar. They'd finally arrived.

It was a large, wide-open plain with patches of trees resembling small grooves here and there, along with some hills at it's furthest reaches. Overall, it looked perfect. Itachi would need to get used to the absence of trees, but other than that, keeping an eye on the titanic Bijuu would be easier, and the risks for destroying landmarks or accidentally stomping someone were close to null.

"**I like it.**" She heard the great fox murmur and took the chance to peek at its face as she dropped down onto the ground, wincing slightly at the far too high fall.

It was... Strange, to say the least. She was no expert in fox emotions, but even she could tell it was a mix of bitterness, resignation, happiness, and longing.

In a way, she pitied the fox. She'd been told, under threat of execution should the information get out, about the fox's situation. How it used to be a child, a hated jinchuriki, and how the Hokage suspected that either the fourth's seal horribly misfired, or it was intentional all along. Hard to tell, really.

The fox prowled the area, curiously looking around. Despite its size, now that Itachi's mind had already thought back on the fox's human past, she couldn't help but compare it to her two brothers.

It was painfully similar to how Kagami acted, always excited and eager to explore. And, just like Kagami, it held a maturity far beyond its years, something that Itachi knew all too well how painful that sometimes was.

Shaking her head, Itachi waited with a sort of patience only an older sibling with two troublemakers for little brothers would have. Her orders were clear: Make sure the Kyuubi, Naruto, didn't cause international incidents and make sure he's not left alone. The fox was, apparently, in dire need of a friendly role model to look up to, and the Yamanaka clan head had decided she fit the bill.

"Could you come over here, Naruto?" She called out after letting the great fox play around for a while, idly noticing how it was somehow finding butterflies entertaining despite the little critters not even amounting to a fraction of the size of its eyeball.

"**What's up?**" The fox's voice thundered out as it got up from where it'd been laying as it observed the flying insects. It walked over to her, ground thundering underneath its paws.

She deftly ignored how its eyes almost immediately went over to the fairly comfortable tent she'd set up, knowing that she might be here a for while. The Hokage had said it should take a couple of weeks, but he'd also said that he would wait till the political instability caused by the Uchiha and Kyuubi settled.

Hence, she highly doubted she'd be back that quickly.

"I wish to discuss our schedule for our time here with you, Naruto. Furthermore, I must remind you, I have been ordered to make sure you do not slack off in your learning or training. It would reflect... badly on Konoha if it's jinchuriki is not up to par. I would, however, enjoy a guarantee on your part that, should you ever get frustrated or irritated by my actions or comments, you do not," And here she could feel her lips twitch slightly, and whether they did in amusement or fear, she did not know, "...squish me."

She could _feel_ the fox's eyes on her, and judging by its wide eyes, she might have struck a nerve. She would have felt guilty, had her concerns not been something that she really was worried about. After all, while she could easily deal with the frustration of a normal seven-year-old, the one in front of her was a bit out of her league, no matter how much of a genius everyone claimed she was.

"**I... I don't squish people! I'm... I'm not the old Kyuubi...**" The fox whispered, a mournful/angry look on its vulpine face. Itachi felt her heart soften just a bit at the sheer depressive feeling the fox was radiating.

"I didn't mean it like that, my apologies. I just wished to inform you that, despite being very good at what I do, I will not survive should you hit me." She informed it... him.

The fox sulked a bit, pouting. Still, she could tell her words had alleviated some of the hurt she'd accidentally caused. Oh well. He'd get a lot more annoyed with her soon enough.

Whipping out a small scroll, she quickly read over the list of topics she'd been assigned to go over. Most of them were politically-relevant, which made sense. The Sandaime likely wished to ensure that Konoha's most powerful weapon didn't accidentally start yet another great ninja war.

With a smile hidden beneath her mask, she looked up to face the curious form of the Kyuubi. "Well then. Where do you wish to begin? The first topic I'll cover is... history."

Her smile only widened at seeing the realization on the fox's face that, yes, he would still need to cover all the boring stuff.

It reminded her of the little brothers she'd left behind, to a mother who took her role as a perfect housewife too seriously, and a father drunk on ambition and with absolutely no qualms about being ruthless to even his family.

... Yeah. She seriously needed to do something about that when she got back. And, if she got lucky, maybe _someone_ would lend a paw to help her out if she did her job well enough.

* * *

A's fist smashed onto the table in front of him, his face contorted with sheer rage. "Could you repeat that again, Chunin? I think I misheard what you just said."

The poor teenager in front of him gulped, sweat rolling off of his brows. "L-lord Raikage! Our team, while conducting a reconnaissance mission on the border with Fire Country, discovered the outline of the Kyuubi!" He said stiffly, standing at attention. Behind him, his 6-man team might as well have been made of statues as their Raikage's killing intent washed over them like a furious tidal wave.

"How dare those tree-hugging bastards! Get out of here, you six! This is an S-ranked secret, for now. Say a word about it and I'll have you executed, you understand me!?" He roared, getting tiny eeps in return as they scrambled out of the room.

Leaning back on his chair, A grimaced. Konoha was, technically, not in the wrong here. He'd often sent B and Yugito around Lightning Country, even outside of it. If he was to raise this issue in the political stage, he had no doubts the wily old Hokage would dismantle him.

He was far better at talking with his fists, after all. Words were... not his greatest strength, he'd admit.

Still, he couldn't just _let_ Konoha put it's _unsealed_ Bijuu so close to their border. Sure, it was in an uninhabited area still within Fire Country, but the danger the beast represented was just too great.

He tapped his finger anxiously on the desk. Finally, after a few moments, he roared out. "Get C and Darui to me! And also B and Yugito! Hurry up!"

His hidden guards scrambled to fulfill his order, leaving A alone in his office. With a frown, he crossed his muscular arms on his chest, glaring at nothing in particular.

They'd failed multiple times to gain valuable bloodlines from Konoha, and the village's opinion of Kumo was already strenuous. He didn't care much for their opinion, considering their constant internal strife and general weakness in his opinion. Nonetheless, even he knew that attacking their tailed beast as it was right now, especially considering the strange circumstances around it, would have massive repercussions.

B's arrival was announced by a trashy rhyme. "Yo, yo. Killer B's here, ready to bolt for bro!"

Unfortunately, A had yet to find a technique that allowed his glare to kill. Still, his little brother seemed to pick up on his seriousness as he sobered up and shut up.

Yugito's arrival was a much more silent affair. She gave a quiet salute, took stock of the situation, and then went to stand next to Killer B.

When his two wayward friends and advisors arrived, he finally explained the situation to them.

"I've just found out that the rumors we've been hearing about Konoha somehow managing to tame the nine-tails are true. We've spotted the fox prowling in Fire Country, at Lightning's border."

Immediately, both Yugito and B's eyes seemed to glaze over slightly, a sign that their tailed beasts were talking to them. In the end, it was B who spoke up first.

"Yo, bro, Gyuki be sayin, Nine-tails chakra don't feel right. Something weird be happenin, the nine tails cooperate with humans it never would!" B rapped, and although it sounded a bit comical, the frown on his face was anything but.

Yugito nodded. "Yes. Matatabi is saying the same thing. The nine-tails is too proud and powerful to ever be subdued by anyone willingly. She feels there must be something going on."

A growled in suppressed anger. "... Very well. Perhaps, what we need here is a preemptive strike."

Darui's mouth hung agape. "Lord Raikage! That's... That's too risky! Konoha may have bowed to our demands during the Hyuga affair, but that was straight after the Kyuubi attack! If we make such a move, Konoha is almost guaranteed to attack us!"

A shook his head. "Nonsense. Hiruzen's a cowardly fool, and Konoha is too busy fighting itself. Besides, we're not aiming to steal their tailed beast, only to prove a point."

After all, while an attack would make Konoha angry, destroying the balance of power by taking yet another tailed beast, when they were already being criticized for having too many would undoubtedly anger _every_ country.

Darui looked shaken, but nonetheless he backed off. "How confident are you two in dealing with the nine-tails?" A questioned, causing the two jinchuriki to look at each other.

"The nine-tails is extremely powerful, but if we work together along with you, Lord Raikage, I believe we could win. It won't be pretty, however. I'm not sure this is the best way to go about this." Yugito stated after a few moments.

"It's only meant to be a warning. It'll be fine." A waved off her concerns with practiced ease and instead took out a map from next to his desk.

"Alright, here's what we're going to do..."


End file.
